President Donald Trump took aim at the coronavirus task force’s coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, on Monday, slamming her as “pathetic” for raising alarm about coronavirus resurgences sweeping across most parts of the country.
In a tweet, Trump suggested Birx is only voicing concern about the new outbreaks because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., recently criticized her for being overly optimistic about the pandemic’s trajectory.
“So Crazy Nancy Pelosi said horrible things about Dr. Deborah Birx, going after her because she was too positive on the very good job we are doing on combatting the China Virus, including Vaccines & Therapeutics,” Trump tweeted, using a label for covid-19 many consider racist. “In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait & hit us. Pathetic!”
A spokesman for the White House coronavirus task force did not return a request for comment.
Trump’s broadside was directed at remarks Birx made Sunday on CNN.
Yesterday, the White House called it “deeply irresponsible” and “just wrong” to attack Birx.
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) August 3, 2020
Today, Trump attacks Birx. pic.twitter.com/w58s3AWHee
In the appearance, Birx warned that the virus is currently spreading faster and more aggressively than it did at the outset of the pandemic in March and April.
“It is extraordinarily widespread,” she said. “It’s into the rural as equal urban areas. … To everybody who lives in a rural area, you are not immune or protected from this virus.”
Birx also urged Americans across the country to wear face masks as much as possible: “You need to really consider wearing a mask at home, assuming that you’re positive, if you have individuals in your households with comorbidities.”
Dr. Deborah Birx says, "we are in a new phase" of the coronavirus pandemic adding, "This epidemic right now is different and it's ... more widespread and it's both rural and urban" #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/w09X9GrhL0
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 2, 2020
Pelosi did not back up Birx on Monday.
“She has enabled (him),” the speaker said on CNN after Trump’s Twitter assault. “I don’t have confidence in anyone who stands there while the president says ‘Swallow Lysol and it’s going to cure your virus.’”
“I think the president has been spreading disinformation about the virus and she is his appointee so, I don’t have confidence there, no,” Speaker Pelosi tells @MarthaRaddatz when asked is she has confidence in Dr. Deborah Birx. https://t.co/LQX09R988S pic.twitter.com/7jYkLY6MI4
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 3, 2020
Birx isn’t the only prominent member of the White House task force Trump has attacked publicly.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Birx’s colleague and fellow infectious disease expert, has repeatedly drawn Trump’s ire for giving similarly dire warnings about the virus.
More than 155,000 Americans have died from covid-19 so far — by far the worst national death toll in the world.
Public health experts fear the U.S. tally will get worse, as the virus continues to rebound in Southern, Midwestern and Western states that rushed to reopen their economies.
But Trump keeps pushing the false idea that the mass covid-19 resurgences are caused by increased testing capabilities.
“Cases up because of BIG Testing! Much of our Country is doing very well. Open the Schools!” Trump wrote in a Monday morning tweet posted before his slight against Birx.
Despite Trump’s claims, testing alone does not account for the new outbreaks.
Beyond testing, coronavirus infection, death and hospitalization rates are also on the rise, meaning more people are getting sick and that the virus is spreading faster.
